Wick-raiser



Patented ect. 25,' 898. w. H. WI LDER.

WICK RAISEB. (Application filed Mar. 15, s95.

(No Model.)

a? WWA NlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

`WILLIAM HENRY WILDER, OF NORTHAMPTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

WICK-RAISER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 612,&86, dated October 25, 1898.

Application filed March 15, 1895. Serial No. 541,&48. (No model.)

To all whom it 7771603 conccrn:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM HENRY VVILDER, a citizen of the .United States, residing at Northampton,in the county of Hampshire and State of Massachusetts, have in- Vented certain new and useful Inprovements in Wick-Raisers, of which the following is a specificaton, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to certain improvements in the wick-tubes of central-draft lam ps and lamp-stoves and the device for raising the wick therein. i

I have ained in the present instance to provide a Construction in which the upper ends of the inner and outer wick-tubes shall be even and unbroken and perfectly concentric, whereby gas is prevented from rising and causing an uneven fiane.

'ing-bar and rack-bar;

I have further aimed to provide a construction in which the' lifting bar of the wickraiser shall be wholly outside of and discon nected froni the outer wick-tube above the point where it en gages the wick-ring, and this connection shall'be below the level of the oil on all ordinary occasions.

A further object is to provide a wick-raising device which may be readily attached and cletached from the wick ring.

A still further object is to simplify and improve the Construction of the various parts and to increase the effectiveness of operation of the lanp or stove containing the improvements in the greatest possible degree.

The invention is illustrated in the acconpanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of the reservoir of a lamp or lamp-stove with a sufficient portion broken away to show the wick-tube in elevation. Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the wick-tube. Fig. 3 is adetail of the lift- Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional View showing the connection between the lifting-bar and the wick-ring. Fig. 5 is a detail View.

In the figures, A represents the reservoir of the lamp or lamp-stove, and B the outer wicktube, while C represents the inner wick-tube. These two tubes are concentric, and their upper edges are continuous and unbroken, having no space or irregularity where gas may escape to nar the flame. i

The wick-raiser consists, essentially, of a vertically noving lifting bar D, suitably guided and operated, which has its upper por* 5 5 tion located outside the outer wick tube, while its lower end is detachably connected with the wick-ring E. In order to provide for this connection, the outer wick-tube is slotted at m to a point as high up as it is necessary or desirable that the lower end of the wick should be raised by the lifting-bar, and the lower end of the bar, eXtending through or into this slot, is detachably connected with the wick-ring. A very desirable form of connection between the bar and wick-ring is that shown in the accompanying drawings, in which the wick-rin g has an outwardly-turned fiange E' at its lower edge, which flange is engaged on its under side by the turned-over 7o end or bead d of the bar and on its upper side by the tongue d', so that the upward or downward movement of the bar will raise or lower the wick. p

The bar D is preferably a spring-bar, so that its lower end will be kept in engagenent with the wick-ring by the spring of the material, and,`if necessary, or desirable a bridge* piece e, Fig. 5, may be secured to the edges of the slot in the outer wick-tube, this bridgepiece hearing against the outer face of the bar and aiding to hold it to its work.

The lifting-bar is guided bya casing F, secured against the side of the outer wick-tube and extending down below the oil-level or to the point where the lifting-bar enters the slot in the wick-tube. i

The lifting-bar may be operated in any desirable nanner; but I prefer the means shown in the accompanying drawings,in which it will be seen that the casing also incloses a rackbar G, which is arranged against the outer face of the lifting-bar. The rack-bar is held against movement independent of the liftin gbar by a lug fupon the upper end of the lift- 5 in g-bar, which bears against the upper end of the rack -bar, and a corresponding lug f', which bears against the lower end.` The rackbar is operated by a gear g and spindle g'.

It will be especially noted that the connecoo tion of the lifting-bar with the wick-ring is below the low-oil line, and the outer wick-tube is unbroken above this point. Further than this, the casin g containing the lifting-bar and gear extends below the low-oil line, and consequ ently no more gas could rise through this casing than can evaporate from the surface of the oil therein, and as the rack-bar and lifting-bar fit the interior of the' casing very snugly there Will be room for no oil within the casing, and consequently the arrangement will be absolutely gas-proof. This, it will be noticed, permits the omission of the long sleeve and stuffing-box ordinarily used in connection With the raising-spindle gfl In raising a wick by wick-raisers embodying a rack-and-gear Construction it often occurs that the operator will turn the spindle until the gear is disengaged from the rack, and then the wick cannot be turned down again without handling the Wick itself. This disadvantage is avoided in the present construction by reason of the lug f', which holds the lower end of the rack. This, it will be observed, lies close against the bottom tooth of the rack, and in lifting the rack at the eX- tremity of its upward movement the teeth of the gear will strike against this lug f' and prevent the further turning of the gear before it can become disengaged from the teeth of the rack, so that it Will be impossible to turn the rack up to such an extent by the spindle that it Will not be engaged on reversing the motion. The rack-bar and lifting-bar may, however, be removed when desired by simply turning the rack up until its lower end is automatically disengaged from the wick-ring, as hereinafter described, and then placing a knife or similar instrument between the upper ends of the rack and lifting bars, when the rack-bar can then be easily removed completely and afterward the liftingbar.

The automatic disengagement of the lifting-bar and wick-ring above referred to is acconplished by the tongue d' hearing against the edge of the slot and forcing the end of the spring-bar outward far enough to clear the fiange, when the wick and its ring may be easily pulled out.

By long-continued use it is found that by reason of the tongue d bearing against the edge of the slot the said edge, if square, sometimes gets bent inward far enough to catch the fiange of the wick-ring and prevent its removal. To prevent this, the said upper edge of the slot is made of inverted-V shape,

whereby, even if bent inward, the wick-ring may be drawn out, as the flange Will ride upon the beveled edges.

In order to keep the upper edges of the wick-tubes perfectly concentric and prevent their becoming bent out of shape, I find it desirable to strengthen the said edges by beading or upsetting them, as shown at b and c. The bead upon the outer wick-tube in this instance serves as a stop to limit the upper movement of the bar before it reaches the point of automatic disengagement, and the continued upward movement may be accomplished by springing the upper end of the 'a easee lifting-bar out sufficiently to clear the bead. If no bead is used upon, the lamp and the stop is desired, a suitable projection a' may be provided, as shown in dotted lines. It may happen that the wick-ring will accidentally get beneath the jaws of the lifting-bar and drop to the bottom of the wick-space. In order to provide for rengaging the parts, the lower end of the lifting-bar is beveled, as shown at d and a stop d at the lower end of the wick-space holds the wick-ring sufficiently elevated to permit the bar to ride over the fiange and rengage the same.

Instead of the projection or stop the wickring might be permitted to drop clear to the bottom of the wick-space and a pocket x' (shown in dotted lines) be provided for the reception of the end of the bar.

The slot in the outer wick-tube for the admission of the lifting-bar may be simply a small opening, or it may extend clear to the bottom of the tube, as 'may be found desirable.

Instead of having the rack-bar attached to the lifting-bar, as is shown in the drawings, it may be rigidly connected by riveting or in any desired manner, or it might be formed integral therewith. Further than this, it is not necessary to use the rack for Operating the lifting-bar, as a lever of ordinary or any desired Construction might be substituted for the rack and gear.

While I have shown the wick-raiser upon the outside of the outer wick-tube, it might be placed in a similar manner inside the inner wick-tube without materially altering the parts or departing from the spirit of my invention.

While I have described a wick-ring as the means of connection between the lifting devices and the wick, it will be understood that I do not limit myself in this respect, as any of the well-known connections may be used instead of the ring.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. In combination, the outer wick-tube having an opening therein located wholly below the oil-line, the Wick-ring having the annular flange and the lifting device guided on the outer side of the wick-tube and having its lower end passing through the opening longitudinally and detachably connected with the flange, substantially as described.

2. In combination, the wick-tubehaving an opening through the same below the oil-line,

a wick-raiser having its end passing through said opening to engage the wick, the upper wall of said opening being forned of inverted- V shape whereby in the upward movement of the raiser it is disconnected from the Wick, substantially as described.

3. In combination, the wick-tube having an opening therein below the oil-line, the wickring having an annular fiange, the lifting-bar having its lower end extending through said opening, a lug or projection upon its lower IIO end for engaging the under side of the fiange and a tongue for bearing against the upper side of the flange, said tongue having an inclined face, substantially as described.

4. In combination, the Wick-tube having an opening ther-ein, the Wick-ring, the liftingbar passing through the opening and detachably connected With the wick-ring, means for automatically disengaging the bar and ring at the limit of the upward movement, and means for engaging the said parts When the wick-ring slips below the bar', substantially as described.

5. In combination, the Wick-tube, the wickring, the lifting device detachably connected therewith, and means for automatically en- 

